It’s time to focus on our new year’s goals. One of my goals is to increase and intensify my workouts from three to five times a week. This will definitely take planning and making sure I get the proper fuel and rest.

As I mentioned before, I am grateful for so many things. I am grateful for the basic necessities such as having a roof over my head, a bed to sleep in and food on the table. I am grateful for the opportunity to learn from my mistakes and grow from them and continue to move forward.

As I stated before, there is no way around meal prep if you are serious about losing weight or maintaining a healthy weight. Yes, it takes discipline, can be a bit time consuming but so worth it in the end.

Here is an example of my Sunday meal prep. I prepare my steel cut oatmeal for the week. While that’s going I bake my spaghetti squash. While that’s baking, I cook my ground bison in one skillet and saute my vegetables in another. When the squash is done, I bake my sweet potatoes. When the bison is done, I cook my ground turkey meat. After the sweet potatoes are done, I bake my salmon.

While the salmon is cooking, I will cut up fresh fruit and put them in baggies and freeze them for my smoothies. I put everything in large tupperware containers and divide the food into 6 small tupperware containers to take to work. Prep time on average is 2-2 1/2 hours. Try it, even if you start small.

1) Eat before you’re hungry and stop when you are full not stuffed. Sometimes we eat when we are starving which can lead to overeating.

2) Avoid foods that cause inflammation such as sugar, processed and refined foods and trans fats. Inflammation can cause various diseases as well as obesity.

3) Pay attention to why you’re eating. Some people are stress eaters. Ask yourself why you’re eating. Are you sad, depressed, angry, bored, etc.? Try to find a way to cope with your emotions other than eating. Go for a walk, read a book, start a journal.

4) Lastly, when dining out, ask the waiter to replace the bread basket with vegetables.

As I wrote earlier, it’s very important to put the proper fuel in our body for recovery. We need to refuel, rebuild and rehydrate. Here are a couple of ideas for post workout meals.

If just doing cardio, one option is to have whole wheat crackers, fresh fruit with high water content and cheese. This is to rehydrate and replenish electrolytes while maximizing post-exercise calorie burning.

A power fruit smoothie with protein powder and a workout snack, for example banana and peanut butter on a rice cake. The goal is to replace energy stores within 30 minutes after the workout and to repair muscle tissue.

What does success look like to you? As I mentioned before, I place a lot of value in forming and maintaining relationships (family, friends, clients, etc.) To me that is the foundation of success. Does success for you mean getting on the right track with your health and fitness? Whatever it is, it should be something that is meaningful to you and that drives you each and every day to do and be better.

“Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough.”-Og Mandino

These are words I have tried to live by these past few months on my journey to compete again. Although it has been over twelve years since I last competed, I thought I kept myself in somewhat decent shape over the years. Needless to say, it has been a very humbling experience training for a show. I thought that coming out of retirement wouldn’t be so bad.

My reason for coming back was to prove to myself that I still have what it takes mentally and physically. I have learned that the body doesn’t always want to cooperate. Since turning 50, maybe a little before, my body doesn’t bounce back quite the same way. I am not one to give up or give in but it has been very challenging at times. I have had to train smarter and harder. My body is a little beat up at the moment but my spirit is not. I am determined, along with my team, my biggest supporter my husband, my coach, my Pilates instructor, chiropractor and nutritionist to take home the prize and prove that anything is possible.

My goals for 2016 are to compete in at least two bodybuilding (or physique) competitions and to compete in the City Challenge Race again. First things first, I will only be focusing on the bodybuilding competitions first as it will take a lot of hard work, sweat and some tears to get there.

I’ve done it before, six times to be exact and I know it won’t be easy as I have been out of the game for a long time. However, I am committed to do this and have set my sights on winning first place.

During the next three months, I will keep everyone posted as to how I am making out.

In the meantime, please let me know what your goals are for 2016 and what your plan of action will be.

As I wrote in my newsletter, I am always encouraging people to step out of their comfort zone. I am now doing so by coming out of retirement and competing again. I have competed in six bodybuilding shows and although women’s bodybuilding is phasing out, I will be competing in the Physique category. I am crossing off another item on my bucket list to see if I still have what it takes mentally and physically as I approach 50 in February. I will keep you abreast of my journey in the coming months.

What is your bucket list challenge? What have you been thinking about doing but have been holding back on?

In my newsletter, I wrote about what foods to eat to reduce inflammation. Here are some foods to avoid as well as healthy joint supplements.

It is important to stay away from refined sugars such as white sugar and high-fructose corn syrup. The digestive system breaks down processed sugars into basic sugars including glucose which is considered an inflammatory agent.

Being mindful of simple carbohydrate intake is important as well. Processed foods such as white bread, white rice, cookies, cakes, crackers and breakfast cereals are considered simple because they quickly break down into sugars which trigger the body’s inflammatory response.

Unhealthy fats such as trans fats can cause inflammation. A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that the intake of trans fats is positively associated with global inflammation in women.

Certain trigger foods can set off inflammation as well such as gluten and casein (proteins found in wheat and dairy) as well as aspartame and MSG.

There are healthy joint supplements that can help reduce inflammation as well such as: